Mission San Diego de Alcalá

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**Mission San Diego de Alcalá**
Location	San Diego, California
The chapel façade of Mission San Diego de Alcalá as it appeared in 1987.
Name as Founded	La Misión San Diego de Alcalá ^[1]
Translation	The Mission of Saint Didacus of Alcalá
Namesake	Saint Didacus of Alcalá
Nickname(s)	"Mother of the Alta California Missions" ^[2]
Founding Date	July 16, 1769 ^[3]
Founding Priest(s)	Father Presidente Junípero Serra
Founding Order	First
Headquarters of the Alta California Mission System	1769–1771^[4]
Military District	First
Native Tribe(s) Spanish Name(s)	Diegueño
Owner	Roman Catholic Church
Current Use	Parish Church
Coordinates	32°46′48″N, 117°06′40″W
National Historic Landmark	#NPS–70000144
California Historical Landmark	#242
Web Site	http://missionsandiego.com

Mission San Diego de Alcalá was founded on July 16, 1769, the first in the twenty-one Alta California mission chain established by Father Presidente Junípero Serra; today it is known as "California's First Church." Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno named San Diego Bay San Diego de Alcalá when he made landfall there, some ten miles from the present Mission site, in 1602. Due to the mistreatment of the indigenous peoples, they rebelled against Spanish rule, and attacked the Mission on November 5, 1775. Father Luis Jayme, who had been left behind to run the Mission while Father Serra moved on to found other missions, was killed. Peace eventually settled over the area, and by 1797, there were approximately 1,400 Kumeyaay living in the vicinity of the Mission proper. Wheat, corn, wine grapes, barley, beans, cattle, horses, and sheep were the major crops. In 1795, construction on a system of aqueducts was begun to bring water to the fields and the Mission.

After Mexico gained its independence from Spain, it decided that it was not profitable to maintain the missions. The missions were offered for sale to the natives, who were unable to come up with the price, so all mission property was broken up into ranchos and sold to Mexican citizens. In 1846, the Mission San Diego de Alcalá was given to Santiago Arguello. When the United States took over California, the Mission was used by the military from 1846 to 1862. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act declaring that all of the missions would become the property of the Roman Catholic Church, most of which have remained so since that time.

When Mission San Diego de Alcalá was granted back to the Church, it was in ruins. In the 1880s Father Anthony Ubach began to restore the old Mission buildings. He died in 1907, however, and the restoration stopped until 1931. In 1941, the Mission once again became a parish church, which is still an active parish serving the Diocese of San Diego. In 1976, Pope Paul VI designated the Mission church as a minor basilica.

1 Other historic designations
2 Notes
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Other historic designations

California Historical Landmark #52 — mission dam and flume system completed in 1816
California Historical Landmark #784 — El Camino Real (starting point in Alta California)
City of San Diego Historic Designation #113

[edit] Notes

^ Leffingwell, p. 17
^ Young, p. 14
^ Yenne, p. 24
^ Yenne, p. 186

[edit] References

Mission San Diego de Alcalá as it stood circa 1900.

Leffingwell, Randy (2005). California Missions and Presidios: The History & Beauty of the Spanish Missions. Voyageur Press, Inc., Stillwater, MN. ISBN 0-89658-492-5.
Yenne, Bill (2004). The Missions of California. Advantage Publshers Group, San Diego, CA. ISBN 1-59223-319-8.
Young, Stanley and Melba Levick (1988). The Missions of California. Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, CA. ISBN 0-8118-3694-0.